1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a waterproof protector device capable of storing, for example, a digital camera and a system using the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, waterproof protectors (waterproof cases) have been used to protect cameras for underwater photography. A conventional waterproof protector, such as the one described in Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 2002-90854, houses a camera body together with a camera lens.
There is also known a waterproof protector that can be fitted as required with an accessory member, such as a close-up lens or wide-conversion lens, on its front side. A mount portion that has a thread or the like is formed around a light transmitting portion that is opposed to the front face of the waterproof protector or of camera lens, that is the front face of the camera lens for example. The accessory member is removably mounted by utilizing the mount portion.
In an example of the conventional device, the accessory member is attached to the mount portion of the waterproof protector. If the camera body is dislocated with respect to the protector, the respective optical axes of the accessory member and the camera body are misaligned, so that the image quality may be lowered, in some cases.
In order to solve the above problem, a waterproof protector may possibly be proposed that has an accessory storage space large enough to house the accessory member. In this waterproof protector, the camera body and the accessory member are housed integrally with each other. By doing this, the optical axes of the accessory member and the camera body can be maintained accurately.
However, the wide-conversion lens, an example of the accessory member, has its front-side outside diameter much larger than its rear-side outside diameter. A large-capacity waterproof space is required to allow the accessory member of this type to be put into or taken out of the accessory storage space from inside the waterproof protector. Thus, the protector is so bulky as a whole that it is awkward to handle during transportation or photographing operation, and besides, its buoyancy in water is unduly high. Canceling the buoyancy in water inevitably requires a heavier weight.